Self-Diagnosed

Hi Everyone

I’m 35 and having done some reading over the past few days and online testing I’ve come to the realisation that I’m probably autistic

I think it’s quite mild and I’ve got good coping strategies as I don’t need any help really with my career, education or relationships. However working in the NHS I believe this means the chances of getting a formal diagnosis are pretty much nil and I don’t really want to get in the way of people more needing help and support

However, I now recognise that a wide variety of things I’ve always thought were either just me being weird or struggling with things that everyone else just gets on with, are actually quite classic autistic traits

I still think I’m processing a lot of this and don’t really know how I feel about it but I was hoping people might have advice on how to bring this up with people. I worry because a) I really struggle to talk about my emotions b) I don’t think people will take me seriously without a formal diagnosis and c) I think my parents will get quite upset. On the other hand though I want to be able to explain why I sometimes behave in ways that don’t make sense and seem hurtful to other people which I’ve never been able to articulate before 

That’s it really, I’d love to hear from anyone that’s been in a similar position